Author
Topic: Homeschooling (Read 2161 times)

This has nothing to do with UR but I wanted to see what you all think of homeschooling... I'm considering it for my kids and I was wondering if any of you have any experiences, good or bad? Or any opinions from what you've observed in others? Thanks family.

we are going to homeschool this year. My daughter learned 0 at public kindergarten last year. She learned it all the year before in private preschool. The US education system is as bankrupt as the treasury.

Yeah, I have great concerns with sending my kids to public school... not so much with what they will learn educationally, but what they will learn socially... it's a crazy world out there and children are becoming less and less "innocent" as the years go by. I don't want to "shelter" them per se but I don't want them exposed to so much so young... I am definitely leaning toward homeschooling but my husband isn't sure.

Thanks guys. As long as I can get my husband on board i'm pretty sure that's what i'm going to do. I think the positives far outweigh the negatives. I'm going to have to do a lot of research and talk to others who have home schooled their children. I'll have to find a forum... i'm sure there are a few home schooling ones. :)

That's great onlytruth! Let me know how it goes and any advise you may have for me! (I have a couple of years before my oldest will be needing to start school so I have plenty of time to do my research.)

We're through our first month of homeschooling. It has been a bit of an adjustment but really great. The first day my daughter who's six (and a half, she won't let you forget that half), was ready for a break after 1.5 hours of work. I gave her 10 minutes and she said lets watch a movie. I told her no this is school time. We had a little back and forth and she ended up crying and needing a timeout. I think we shattered her dream that day of what she thought homeschooling was going to be .

Its going great, we spend a good bit of time in the Bible. She does handwriting, reading, verse memory (she has 3 fairly complicated verses memorized), spelling, grammar. I also use it to teach her abstract concepts, like symbolism, which is tough to explain at first, but she really gets it. Yesterday when I was leaving she had some free time and she grabbed her little kids bible and was reading it.

She will be done with first grade by the new year too. We have her practice piano, we're about to start Spanish and French with her too. I would highly recommend it for anyone who has the inclination.

We have four kids . . .we started the first two out in a very strong Christian-based school that only had kindergarten and 1st grade . .from there we put them in an actual Christian school. We found out rather quickly that the kids in a christian school still have the same mannerisms and characteristics as public school kids so that was a bit disheartening. Then my wife became very motivated within herself to quit her job, stay home and home school them. Our oldest are two girls who were only a year and a half apart. One was very social, the other very introverted.

At the time the homeschooling began, they were only about 9 and 11. We were told it wouldn't be healthy to take them out of the social networking of the school system. Homeschooling was nothing like what it is today. now, it has a very strong track-record of producing some very intelligent and career-driven kids. But it all depends on the parental engagement. Some systems allow the student to be totally independent where everything is on video or the internet. This only works if the student is self-motivated. Our older one was very much so and this just accentuated that. Our younger daughter . . not so much.

What we learned is this . . . whether it's homeschooling, private or public, for us, it wasn't about what "we" thought would be best. But it depended on the personality of the child. In the end, our oldest graduated through the home-school program and our younger one chose to return to public school and she graduated through that. We found that the best way for them to learn is through the avenue that they are most willing to "want" to learn.

Now, with the last two, the twins are only 6 and homeschooling them wasn't even an option this time. They are extremely out going, very social and they both love school. And now my wife is back in the work force as a nurse's aid at the "middle" school in our town. This year has been quite a year of transition. We had our second daughter graduate, both daughters move out and the twins going into first grade and now my wife is working again and in the school system where she thrives being around the students.

Home school worked out great for our oldest daughter . . .it was "okay" for the younger one but she felt more comfortable in a public one and the boys have already proven that public school is where they're to be at this particular juncture of our lives.

Let me also add this . . .early on, we felt our kids would never be in a public school due to all the filth and ungodliness that comes out of those schools. Then we saw the push to take the bibles out of the school libraries and we shook our finger at society for their ignorance. But it wasn't until later that I came to realize that the only way that they can remove God from the school systems is not by taking the bibles away, but only if they remove the students themselves. God doesn't live in a book . . .he lives in the kids. That kinda shifted our opinion about public or private.

our first month ...kids and wife are enjoying it very much,the kids seem happier.They used to be in a christian school but the home school is a christian course curriculam.people that we interact with,watch us to see if we interject any heresy though,but other than that the kids are thrivingblessings

Nathan I agree with that about the kids personality. I thought ours would never want to. When my wife was pregnant with her we planned on it, but then once we saw what a social butterfly she is we said there is no way. We did pre-school and kindergarten at private and public respectively. She was so bored with school (I know its only kindergarten but), then it was getting to the point of me not seeing her very much due to our schedules, and I just couldn't take only seeing her on the weekends a little and at passing during the day. That was the reason we made the change. We wanted to keep her in the public schools cus she is such a light. She sings and talks about Jesus all the time, and has such a loving spirit. For now though she needs her dad and he needs her (probably me more than her)

Both of our children are in the public school system. My wife stays at home and we could certainly home school our children. We could also let them go to Christian based schools locally. We choose not to do either of these things. We teach our children values at home. We monitor their friendships. But, we also allow them to grow, learning to navigate a world of contradictions, personalities, belief systems, and activities. You can't homeschool that kind of experience. I do not want my children's first exposure to temptation to be when they are out of our home, when I am not as close of a resource to them. I want to be there for them, to assist in navigating those waters. Why? Because, that is what each of us have to do, day in and day out.

We can try to shelter our children, but in the end we each have to face temptations up close and personal. Would I rather my children face that with me, or without me?

Shawn, I'm not homeschooling to shelter her. I'm homeschooling for academic reasons and so that I can see her. I went to private school till 3rd grade and public school to graduation. I was very sheltered even while in public school. Until 4th grade I thought if you went to private school you were baptist, if you went to catholic school you were catholic, and if you went to public school you were lutheran. We weren't allowed to listen to any secular music until I was in middle school, except the Beach Boys, why them? I have no idea. My eyes were really opened when I went to college. I thought most people were good, loving, faithful, etc. I had become quite worldly by that time too. Growing up in leave it to beaver land definitely sheltered me also. Not sure what my point is, oh yeah, I am anti-sheltering wherever it comes from.

I would have loved to have been home schooled. I hated going to school . . .my grades reflected my disdain. I would have LOVED to have been able to go hunting early in the morning, school stuff when I got home, then back out again in the afternoon. That may sound childish . .but hey . . I was a child at the time!!

Shawn, I'm not homeschooling to shelter her. I'm homeschooling for academic reasons and so that I can see her. I went to private school till 3rd grade and public school to graduation. I was very sheltered even while in public school. Until 4th grade I thought if you went to private school you were baptist, if you went to catholic school you were catholic, and if you went to public school you were lutheran. We weren't allowed to listen to any secular music until I was in middle school, except the Beach Boys, why them? I have no idea. My eyes were really opened when I went to college. I thought most people were good, loving, faithful, etc. I had become quite worldly by that time too. Growing up in leave it to beaver land definitely sheltered me also. Not sure what my point is, oh yeah, I am anti-sheltering wherever it comes from.

Please don't take my comments as an attack on you or anyone else that home schools. It's just a personal choice for us. I do understand why some choose it.

We homeschooled both of our children. Mixed results. They're both very good, kind, and independent young adults now. However, I think there could have been some benefit from increased (appropriate) socialization, as well as our daughter needed more structure to encourage her progress. I probably would homeschool again through 6th grade, then have them go to a public or Christian school for the remainder. Homeschooling was excellent when they were little, gave us the flexibility to travel, do things as a family, etc.

Wow thank you all so much for your feedback! Shawn I completely understand what you're saying. I know that they will be exposed to all types of sin at some time or another and I do want to be there to help them make the right decisions. At the same time I know how horrible bullying can be and I really don't want them to have to endure that at such young ages. (I think most children get bullied at some point in their school years.) I know that my daughter would probably LOVE public school. Ughhh I wish this wasn't such a hard decision. Well maybe 2012 will bring about a huge earth shattering change to the planet and I won't have to worry about it. Wouldn't that be convenient. In the event that it doesn't I am going to have to really seek the Lord in this matter. I don't know why it stresses me out so much, I know that when all is said and done my children are going to be just fine.

Wow thank you all so much for your feedback! Shawn I completely understand what you're saying. I know that they will be exposed to all types of sin at some time or another and I do want to be there to help them make the right decisions. At the same time I know how horrible bullying can be and I really don't want them to have to endure that at such young ages. (I think most children get bullied at some point in their school years.) I know that my daughter would probably LOVE public school. Ughhh I wish this wasn't such a hard decision. Well maybe 2012 will bring about a huge earth shattering change to the planet and I won't have to worry about it. Wouldn't that be convenient. In the event that it doesn't I am going to have to really seek the Lord in this matter. I don't know why it stresses me out so much, I know that when all is said and done my children are going to be just fine.

I don't think either is a "wrong decision". And I do understand your concerns because I have them as well. Just follow what that inner voice is telling you.